One PM
by mustlovecat
Summary: After setting some ground rules, Sam and Andy navigate their first shift after deciding to make an attempt at a relationship.


**A/N **Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me so warmly to this board and have reviewed my first two one-shots: _Two AM _and _Seven AM_. Here is the next one in the series. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing related to _Rookie Blue_, ABC or GlobalTv. I'm just borrowing the characters for my own amusement.

Sam climbed back into the squad car after he and Andy had handled a B&E, checking the computer and sighing in relief to see there were no other scenes pending from dispatch at the moment. As Andy slid into the passenger seat beside him, he glanced over at her. "We got a bit of a break. You hungry?"

"I could eat," she said. "Although probably nothing too heavy. I'm already salivating for the grilled salmon at Snug Harbour tonight."

"Oh yeah? Hot date?" he teased her.

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled. "Could be." She sat back in her seat as he started the car and pulled out into traffic, actually feeling some butterflies as she anticipated the night ahead.

"The usual okay?"

"Yeah, sure." She bit her lip in contemplation then. For a moment, she just sat there, watching the shops of Queen Street go by as he manoeuvred the cruiser through traffic towards a deli they both liked. The day had been pretty quiet so far, even with a break and enter thrown in, and the air between them was cracking with excitement, both of them anxious for their first date. However, her curiosity was starting to get the better of her, and the more time that passed without Sam saying anything, the more her mind was starting to play with all sorts of scenarios. So finally, she looked over and took in his profile. "So, uh – What did Best need to talk to you about after Parade this morning?"

Swarek glanced over at her quickly with a reassuring smile. "Nothing to worry about."

"What's that mean?"

He chuckled softly. "It means you don't have to worry about it, McNally."

She crossed her arms over her chest, her brow furrowing. However, she remained silent. She chewed on her lip, though, not quite able to let it go.

Stopped at a red light a couple of minutes later, Sam looked at her, shaking his head slightly. From her expression, he knew it was still troubling her. "Okay. We're Swarek and McNally right now, right?"

She looked at him blankly for a second before she realized he was referring back to the ground rules she had set earlier in the morning. They had not even had a chance to be Sam and Andy yet, and he wanted to talk to her about something that required him talking to his partner, not his...well, whatever she was to him now? "Okay..."

"Frank wanted to make sure I knew what all went down at the Mermaid after I left last night."

"Oh." She looked away, training her eyes on the traffic waiting for the light to change ahead of them. She shrunk back in her seat a little, trying to think if there was anything more Best could have told him that she had not admitted to during their late night chat.

"From the sounds of it, he pretty much confirmed the fact that I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for you – and your ability, apparently, to run in hooker boots. Woulda liked to have seen _that_, by the way," he added, firing a wink in her direction. "You're a damn good cop, McNally, and I hope you don't feel like you've got to question your abilities anymore."

She smiled a little shyly. "Thanks."

He nodded, looking forwards again as the light turned green. "Though you should know that the guy you're seeing is probably going to have a few choice words about you turning your back on a guy holding you at gunpoint."

At that, Andy's eyes widened a little. "The guy I'm seeing? Is that how this is going to be? We're going to be referring to ourselves in the third person?"

"Your rules, McNally."

She worried her lip for a moment. "I didn't have a choice," she finally muttered, barely loud enough for him to make out the words.

"What's that?"

"I didn't have a choice, Sam. If I'd worried about the gun in Rick's hand, you _would_ be dead. You _would have_ been made and we _wouldn't_ be having this conversation right now. We certainly would not be getting the chance we have to see where this thing between us can go. So 'the guy I'm seeing' can be all pissed off if he wants. He can yell at me and tell me how stupid it was, but it won't change what happened or the fact that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Or the fact that he would have done the exact same thing no matter how pissed off it would have made me."

Sam pulled the cruiser into a spot on the street out front of the deli. He turned off the ignition before he chanced a look over at his partner. "Thank you."

She eyed him suspiciously. "For what?"

"For having my back."

She took a deep breath. "That's what partners do. At least, that's why my T.O. taught me."

He nodded with a smile.

Andy furrowed her brow. "How is thing going to work, Sam? Am I naive to think we can separate Sam and Andy, the cops, from Sam and Andy, the...whatever we are to each other?"

Sam stretched his arm across the back of her seat, leaning in closer. "Look, Andy, we _can't_ always separate the two. When we're on the job, yeah, we gotta be professional. But you can't just turn off your feelings when you put on the uniform. Everything you feel, both personally and professionally, informs your decisions. But you gotta realize that some of the decisions you make as a cop, right as they might be, aren't always going to make me – the guy who's crazy about you – happy. Just like I'm gonna do some stuff on the job that my girlfriend's probably gonna take issue with, even though my partner will completely understand."

"This is complicated."

"Told ya it was gonna be messy. But I think it's worth it. 'Cause you and me – McNally, we got what it takes to be incredible. I believe that."

Andy hesitated for a moment before she replied, "I don't trust myself. I don't want to screw this up, but I always screw everything up, Sam. I thought I was making the right choices, but they were all wrong. I'm gonna mess this up, I know it."

"Do you want this?"

She nodded, her brow still furrowed but her expression full of conviction.

"Then if you can't trust yourself no matter how much I do, trust me. The only way you can mess this is up is if you stop doing that." He took a breath. "Look, maybe we should slow this down. Last night was crazy, and while I'm glad it happened because it did change things, it changed things pretty damn fast. I mean, twelve hours ago, you were still considering moving in with Callaghan. So, maybe we just need to take a step back, and you can get your footing."

"No," she blurted out quickly.

He quirked an eyebrow with a hint of a smile.

"I just mean – Sam, I know what I want. I finally feel like myself. I just need to learn how to trust that. But I don't – I don't want to stop, or even slow down. I want to go out with you tonight."

"Okay."

"Just – I just need you to be a little patient," she added softly.

At that, Sam looked at her pointedly. "I think I've proven that patience is my middle name, McNally."

She found herself giggling at the low timbre in his voice and the truth behind his words. "True." She tilted her head then, taking in the expression on his face. Finally, she sighed. "We haven't even made it to the date yet and you're already about to break the rules."

"What can I say? I like to live dangerously. C'mere..." He drew her close and kissed her. It was quick but passionate. He pulled away slowly, but not before brushing his nose against hers, an act so intimate, something he did unconsciously every time he got to be that close to her, something he had only ever done with her. "You get scared, or you need us to slow down, you tell me. But trust me: this is gonna work out."

"We should get lunch to go. I don't want to risk not getting off shift on time. I've got a hot date with this pretty incredible guy tonight."

Sam flashed his dimples. "Lucky guy."

Andy grinned. "Yeah, you are."

He chuckled. "C'mon, McNally, I'm starving."

She rolled her eyes, opening the car door and slipping out. "Hey, Sam?"

He got out of the squad car and glanced at her over the windshield. "Yeah?"

She looked away for a second before glancing back at him with a shrug. "Maybe some rules are meant to be broken."

"I knew you'd cave, McNally. I'm just that irresistible."


End file.
